Former New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira, one in all a number of sports figures working for political workplace this yr, gained a landslide victory in a Republican primary in Texas on Tuesday in his marketing campaign for a U.S. House of Representatives seat.
Teixeira took greater than 61 p.c of the vote in Texas’ twenty first Congressional district to win the 12-candidate subject. The former first baseman will now run as the Republican nominee to interchange outgoing Rep. Chip Roy, who is headed into a runoff to develop into the GOP nominee for Texas lawyer common.
“This is a huge victory, and I’m truly honored to have such strong support from the people of TX-21. Thank you!” Teixeira said in a post on X. “I’m so grateful to everyone who voted, put in the work, donated, and especially prayed for us along the way.”
Teixeira spent 14 seasons in MLB, enjoying for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels earlier than becoming a member of the Yankees in 2009. A 3-time All-Star, he gained 5 Golden Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards throughout his profession, and he gained a World Series in his first yr with New York. He led the American League in house runs and RBI that season.
After retiring from baseball, Teixeira grew to become a broadcaster for ESPN from 2017 to 2022. Trump has endorsed his House marketing campaign.
Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely and former broadcaster Michele Tafoya are additionally aiming to get elected.
Feely stated in April 2025 that he would run to characterize Arizona’s fifth Congressional District, however stated in December that he would instead run for the state’s 1st Congressional District after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent, Mark Lamb. At the time, Trump said he liked Feely “very much, and would like to see him run in a different district, or for a different office.”
Feely performed 13 seasons within the NFL with six groups earlier than turning into a commentator, reporter and analyst for CBS Sports till 2025. The placekicker gained a nationwide championship with Michigan in 1997 earlier than a two-year stint within the Arena Football League and a 2001 NFL debut with the Atlanta Falcons. His longest run with a workforce was with the Arizona Cardinals from 2010 to 2013. Feely completed his skilled profession with the Chicago Bears the next season.
Feely has stated the assassination try in opposition to Trump in Butler, Pa., impressed him to run for workplace, and that he needs to face up for conservative sports media figures who he feels are vilified for his or her beliefs.
The Arizona primary is ready for July 21, and Feely is one in all eight Republicans vying for the nomination. If ultimately elected, Feely would change 15-year conservative Rep. David Schweikert, who’s working for governor.
Tafoya, a former NFL reporter for ABC, NBC, CBS and ESPN who later grew to become a political pundit, is working within the Republican primary race for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat. She announced her candidacy in January and drew nationwide consideration this week when she said that “almost 30 percent of Californians are homeless on any given night” throughout an look on Fox News. California’s true homeless fee is about 0.47 p.c, based on information from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. However, the state does account for practically a 3rd of the nation’s complete homeless inhabitants.
The primary for the Minnesota Senate race is Aug. 1. Tafoya faces 9 opponents for the GOP nomination, together with former Sacramento Kings participant Royce White. Republicans are hoping to flip a seat held by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, who isn’t working for re-election.
Michele Tafoya’s closing sport as an NFL sideline reporter was for NBC at Super Bowl LVI in 2022. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
Trump has supported quite a few campaigns by sports figures since turning into president. He campaigned exhausting for Heisman Trophy-winning working again Herschel Walker in his failed 2022 bid for a Senate seat in Georgia, and in addition backed former Auburn soccer coach Tommy Tuberville, who gained his 2020 Senate marketing campaign in Alabama. Tuberville is now working for governor.
Former NBA middle Chris Dudley can be working for governor in Oregon as a Republican. He beforehand sought the place in 2010 and gained the GOP nomination, however misplaced in a detailed common election. Dudley performed for six NBA groups from 1987 to 2003, beginning with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has considerably distanced himself from the president, telling the Oregon Journalism Project in November, “If we spend the next election just talking about Donald Trump, that’s a disservice to Oregon.”
That sharply differs from the strategy being taken in Georgia by former University of Tennessee soccer coach Derek Dooley. Dooley has courted Trump all through his run in a aggressive Republican Senate primary the place he faces 9 opponents.
However, Dooley’s pursuit of the president’s endorsement could have hit a snag in late February after audio emerged of him admitting Trump misplaced Georgia within the 2020 presidential election. Trump continues to baselessly contest that reality. Dooley’s primary is on June 16.
Rounding out the present slate of athletes-turned-candidates is Colin Allred, a three-term congressman who spent 4 years as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. A Democrat, Allred gave up his spot representing Texas’ thirty second Congressional District within the House to run for Senate in 2024. He misplaced to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and is now main a May 26 runoff race to characterize the state’s thirty third District.
Several of those races contain states and districts which have just lately undergone redistricting, together with the one Allred is working on this cycle. Texas and Georgia have faced criticism that their present political maps discriminate in opposition to non-white voters.
Tafoya’s marketing campaign in Minnesota has been impacted by ongoing protests over the Trump administration’s deportation ways, together with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal brokers; Tafoya referenced the immigration unrest in her marketing campaign announcement. Teixeira and Feely are additionally working on platforms calling for strict immigration enforcement. Along with Tafoya and Dooley, they’ve all opposed the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’s sports.
Dudley has not made transgender athletes a serious problem of his marketing campaign, however has spoken out in opposition to the expansion of authorized sports playing, saying he “hates” prop bets.
“I get that it’s such a huge part of NBA revenues. But I don’t like where it can take people,” he informed the Oregon Journalism Project. “With FanDuel, you do fantasy teams, then you’re bombarded with offers. I’ve got three kids and seen the way it works.”
